Aspen Resident Buys $1,699 Thermomix to Automate Family Meals

Aspen —“Life requires harsh decisions, like, ‘What’s for dinner for the rest of your life?’”

That’s the existential dread that drove a local to buy the Thermomix TM7, a kitchen appliance that Aspen Times reports has essentially replaced the need for a human chef in at least one household. The writer didn’t just buy a gadget; they bought a solution to the daily grind of cooking, naming the machine “Pierre” after a fictional French chef and because it acts as the “foundation” of their kitchen.

It’s a $1,699 solution to a problem that used to cost nothing but time.

The Thermomix TM7 isn’t a blender. It’s not a mixer. It’s a 2.2-liter mixing bowl that weighs, chops, grinds, blends, sautés, and steams. It contains more than 20 appliances in one. You pull up a recipe from a database of roughly 100,000 options, and the machine guides you step-by-step. It even sings a little tune when it’s done. For context, that’s $1,699 to automate the act of feeding yourself and your family, plus a free Zoom tour to ensure you actually know how to use the thing.

The writer claims it’s changed their diet and made life easier. They’ve hauled Pierre to their parents’ lake house to inspire a mother who is “even more tired of cooking” than the daughter. That’s a specific, localized use case: the suburban kitchen and the lake house. The machine creates grocery lists and sends them to your phone. It locks securely. It shuts off. It doesn’t burn the food if you get distracted by your phone.

Then there’s the water.

The same review covers the BOTE Hangout Dock, a floating platform for people who prefer to simply float above the water rather than swim or ski. It’s a shift from active recreation to passive relaxation. The article notes the dock ranges in size depending on required capacity, though the specific dimensions are cut off in the provided text. It’s for people who want the light bounce of the water without the effort of a boat.

The third item, implied by the title “Big Three of Summer” but not fully detailed in the truncated source, is likely related to this theme of functional leisure. The first two items — Thermomix and BOTE — represent a specific kind of Western Slope summer: one that is expensive, automated, and focused on comfort over exertion.

Let’s do the math on the Thermomix. $1,699. It replaces a scale, a chopper, a blender, a steamer, and potentially a sous-vide machine. It saves time. It saves the mental load of meal planning. It costs more than a week’s worth of groceries for many families. But if you’re tired of cooking, it’s a one-time hit. The writer says it’s “worth every penny.” That’s a strong claim for a single appliance.

The BOTE dock is about the experience. It’s about stability. It’s about not having to paddle. It’s a luxury of stillness on the river or lake.

This isn’t just gear. It’s a lifestyle upgrade. It’s paying $1,700 to never have to chop an onion again. It’s paying for the ability to float without moving. It’s the commodification of leisure.

The article doesn’t mention how many locals can actually afford this. It doesn’t mention if the lake house is in Aspen or if it’s in a cheaper county. It just says “my parent’s lake house.” That’s a detail we don’t have. But the price tag is clear. $1,699 for the kitchen robot. A floating dock for the rest.

The bottom line? If you’re tired of cooking, you can pay $1,699 to let a machine named Pierre do it for you. If you’re tired of swimming, you can buy a dock to float. It’s expensive. It’s functional. It’s the new normal for some.